Will The Red Sox Surge or Melt In the Second Half? WEEI Responds To Ratings Claims

The Red Sox get back to work tonight as they begin a series in Tampa with the Rays. What will the second half of the season bring for the Red Sox? Can they pull it together and grab a playoff spot, or is a complete meltdown right around the corner?

Mismatched Sox wearing on Bobby? – Gordon Edes has today’s must-read column, with plenty of griping and back-biting going around the Red Sox clubhouse, most of it centered around manager Bobby Valentine.

In an email to BSMW, Entercom’s Jason Wolfe disputed the numbers from yesterday’s post, (A sure sign WEEI is doing better, Wolfe has emerged from his bunker.) discarding the standard Arbitron numbers that run from 3-7pm and sending over what he claims are the 2-6pm numbers for the month of June.

He also zinged me with this line:

I know you’re a 98.5 fan and not an EEI fan, that’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re numbers are wrong.

OK. Has he paid attention at all to what I’ve said about Felger and Mazz, either here or on Twitter? A 98.5 fan? Someone over at CBS Boston is getting a good chuckle out of that.

Someone from 98.5 emailed me recently and said:

Maybe we suck. Maybe we’re too negative. Or too loud. Or too whatever. You are entitled to whatever opinion you have.

I sure am glad all the radio people are allowing me to be entitled to my own opinion on things.

Anyway, here is what Wolfe sent me regarding the afternoon drive numbers:

The numbers from yesterday were taken directly off sheets with the Arbitron copyright on them. These numbers provided by Wolfe may well be accurate, but he’s also had a history of being, um, creative with how he comes up with ratings figures.

Yesterday, WEEI also sent over these figures, interestingly, the release contained the line “WEEI saw benefits of carrying both the Celtics and Red Sox game broadcasts.” Um, yeah. :

How could he miss you being critical of both WEEI and TSH? If anything, without counting (the “Guest” or “Guesty” might wind up doing this), I say you’ve come out with more articles that are
critical of TSH, esp Felger, lately. Moreover, if you had to take a barometer of what the past few months, Felger has started to trend lower, which it seems the ratings are showing.

In listening to TSH enough now, not only have they used topics and material from the show, but Felger called Bruce out by name. He’s also read one of the letters that someone editorialized and posted about the cap being crap–to which Felger just laughed at it. So, thanks for paying attention.

Maybe the winners here are the fans, and also the people who wind up commenting on this board? Personally, having competition is a good thing. It makes sure that both stations are working toward putting a better product out there, right?

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“I sure am glad all the radio people are allowing me to be entitled to my own opinion on things.”

Better watch out for people dumpster diving near where you live, Bruce.

Love the Tanguay article, all great points. In the clip you posted, I like how Borges (never thought I’d put those words together) is just baiting him to say Donny Marshal’s name. Everyone knows that’s his source. Donny plays golf with Ray twice a week. And then at the end of the segment Tanguay basically does give up Donny by saying that Marshal told people Ray would leave during the season. I beginning to think that the longer Gary’s hair gets the more irrational he becomes.

After posing nude for ESPN The Magazine’s “Body Issue” and partying
at events for the issue and the ESPYs and co-hosting “Access Hollywood
Live” in recent days — things that seem un-Patriot-like — don’t be
surprised if tight end Rob Gronkowski lays low for the next couple of
weeks according to Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe.

Via a league source, Gronkowski has been told by the team that

his summer of Gronk, so to speak, is over.

(This is from the Bedard Sunday column she’s doing this week because he is on vacation. Note: I had to delete cookies before this worked w/o pay.)

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Hate to see the Patriots enforce the “NFL=NO FUN LEAGUE” but one has to think that his newly minted millionaire status and his youth are just a volatile cocktail.

Owners of websites cannot be sued for the comments other people make. And what did the site do “with Dickerson during the winter”? I remember Bruce didn’t post anything until Dickerson spoke with the local newspaper.

Commenting here has two parts, and almost as soon as that Tanguay comment was posted, I thought I had deleted it from both parts, Unfortunately that was not the case. That’s my bad. I do not condone speculation of that sort. I don’t recall specifics of what you’re talking about with regards to Dickerson. If such things were said I believe I would’ve deleted them as well.

Felger is becoming what Ordway was 5 years ago when he was on the top of afternoon drive, arrogant, dismissive and rude. Ordway as toned it down and Holley keeps him accountable. Felger just uses the same old fall back topics and after a few years they have become old. Green Teamers, Texas Tough Guy, Hockey is the best blah blah blah…..Plus as an advertiser i would want the 25-54 age group becuase they have money to spend

So, since some shows devoted their entire time to the Sandusky story, torching everyone and everything who has one iota of doubt about everything, it seemed like a few turned their heads to what Bill James said here because he’s local. As F+M pointed out, why the Sox haven’t issued some 2-line memo distancing themselves from him but respecting his opinion is…. interesting.

The story was big enough to appear on Deadspin, Sportsgrid, etc, but I thought the best article was done by Minihane. He discusses the story well and puts forward some good points.

“I know you’re a 98.5 fan and not an EEI fan, that’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re numbers are wrong.” Dear Jason, I realize yours is an audible medium, not a written one, but knowing “your” vs. “you’re” might make you look a little more commanding.